Coursework: Module papers
Formal assessment of the course is made on the basis of a paper (3,000 words) submitted by the deadline indicated in Sussex Direct.
Papers should be developed by the students. This can be done in consultation with the module convenor. The paper will give students the chance to more closely explore a topic from the course. Please use the module reading list and any supplemental readings you can find on your chosen topic. Evaluation of the module paper will take into account the student’s ability to identify, outline and discuss a particular problem of his or her own interest related to one of the module themes presented in the lectures and/or discussed in classwork exercises/seminars.
Project case study
The case study should show how the experiences of one or more projects relate to one of the module themes presented in the lectures and/or discussed in classwork exercises/seminars. Referring to project and company background information from personal experience or secondary sources, the case study should reveal interesting project events, facts, people, organisational approaches, challenges and how these are overcome (or not).
The key criterion for the module evaluation of the case study is the ability to identify key lessons about managing projects from one or more project cases. The project case study may cover a number of issues such as:
• The project goal.
• Type of project (e.g. using the NTCP framework).
• The project success measures.
• The project web: systems integrator/prime contractor, customers, subcontractors, government agencies, finance, etc.
• The project organisation: matrix, project-based organisation (PBO) or functional structures.
• Project life cycle: phases of the project from invitation to tender (ITT), through bid and contract, to project execution and hand-over to the customer.
• ‘Hot spots’ in the project: problem areas that had to be overcome during the project life cycle.
• ‘Beauty spots’: areas of good practice in the project, innovative methods being deployed.
• Appropriate and inappropriate approaches for the project according to its type (e.g. managing a high-tech project as a medium-tech one).
• User participation in the project.
• Core capabilities/competencies involved in the project, e.g. systems integration, project management, bid management, software engineering, marketing, etc.
• Broader issues affecting megaprojects (e.g. risks, decision-making, etc.)